Cub Cadet

Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:56 am

If I had known who actually made this Cub Cadet I would not have bought it. 250 hours and two years old. It has been serviced every 50 hours, cleaned after every use. always stored inside. The B&S engine still runs beautifully. The rest of the machine is junk. All wheels worn out because they have no bushing or bearings. Reverse is out . The spindles are shot. Idler pulleys shot . The deck is more than half rusted thru. Most of these failures are due to an extremely poor lubrication system and use of cheep materials. Poor workmanship by the assemblers is evident. A $2000 investment for two years use says this is junk.

Re: Cub Cadet

Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:52 pm

I'm always reluctant to say this here, but when it comes to lawn and garden tractors, nothing runs like a Deere.

Re: Cub Cadet

Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:14 pm

Don McCombs wrote:... when it comes to lawn and garden tractors, nothing runs like a Deere.

My JD-777 and I agree!!

Re: Cub Cadet

Sun Apr 08, 2012 8:55 pm

Which cub cadet are you talking about? My 1282 says it's a cub cadet but its not made by them. Grump

Re: Cub Cadet

Mon Apr 09, 2012 6:29 am

It's a LTX 1046. My understanding is that the Deere was a fine machine before MTD got them. I'm not sure about the newer ones.

Re: Cub Cadet

Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:38 am

Don McCombs wrote:I'm always reluctant to say this here, but when it comes to lawn and garden tractors, nothing runs like a Deere.

Agreed, as my '89 JD 420 with over 2,000 hours on the meter is still going strong (knock on wood). But even Deere has their big box store models now. The Deere dealers around here won't even work on them. I believe Deere still makes the models the dealers sell.

Re: Cub Cadet

Mon Apr 09, 2012 10:36 am

Don McCombs wrote:I'm always reluctant to say this here, but when it comes to lawn and garden tractors, nothing runs like a Deere.

Well I have had my L-111 what 5 years now? I have no complaints with the B&S engine in it even though it is kinda big at 20 hp. It has issues -- though not relating to the construction but more suitability of a hydro to certain areas of my property. Off slope mowing and the Deere is pretty cool. Uses more fuel than my Cub but still pretty easy all things considered. The one huge problem I have with the Deere is the quality of the finish. The mower deck started peeling yellow paint after a couple weeks and the tractor deck started peeling paint after the first season. I always washed the unit completely after each mowing but could not seem to stop the peeling. The paint peels off in strips and small sheets .. really infuriating.

My Cub Cadet 129 however has very little rust aside from a bit of surface rust on some areas that have scrapes. This unit sat outside under a deck at the PO's cottage about 30 miles from here for over 20 years. Surprisingly it is in great shape. The kohler has been rebuilt and only has about 5 hours on it, and is still free. It needs work though.

On hills I much prefer my gear drive Craftsman and would love to have Gord's 108 to handle those areas of my yard as the gear drives are very stable on slopes. I find with my Deere that the rear is much lighter and tends to slide on the slope and loses traction. The front is very heavy with that 20 hp under the composite hood. I cannot move the L-111 by myself if it gets stuck. I literally have to have help or get Ellie out to pull the JD up the slope. Rather disconcerting .....

Re: Cub Cadet

Tue Apr 10, 2012 8:46 am

I use a gulp!! Deere, for lawn mowing. Kind of hard to drive, wearing a bag over my head, so the neighbors won't know that its me, though. Theft resistant, too, as it blends in, with the grass and dandelions! Ed

Re: Cub Cadet

Tue Apr 10, 2012 8:48 am

No reason to be ashamed, Ed. There's lots of us out here.

Re: Cub Cadet

Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:54 am

I likewise use a JD X320 lawn tractor which seems to be significantly more stout than the JD's sold by Lowes.

Re: Cub Cadet

Fri Apr 20, 2012 9:43 am

The line of items sold by the stores like Lowes, Walmart, etc. are frequently a cheaper version made just for them. Even the computer companies used to have a special model they produced only for certain store chains for the Black Friday sales. I learned that when I had a problem with one, and when I went to the HP site and put it the model number it stated in the info, manufactured exclusively for Best Buy

Re: Cub Cadet

Fri Apr 20, 2012 12:55 pm

Right you are John. I found a 6 year old Deere with low hours. It was sold by a JD dealer. After I got it home I went to Lowe's for comparison. Tinker Toy vs Caterpillar. You get the idea.